1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color photographic light-sensitive material and, more particularly, to a light-sensitive material capable of directly providing a reversal color image through one color development.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the general use of color photography, color photographic images are desired to be obtained as fast as possible after photographing through as simple a processing as possible to produce a positive image visually corresponding to the photographed object.
In ordinary practice, exposed silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials are subjected to a series of development-processing steps involving one development processing to provide images which are in a negative relation to the original. Therefore, in order to obtain positive images to the original, the negative images obtained by a series of development-processing steps must be subjected to an additional series of processing steps involving one development processing after exposure again for printing.
A reversal development-processing system is another process to obtain a positive image from an original. This processing usually involves first development, washing, bleaching, washing, a cleaning bath, a washing bath, an exposure or fogging bath, and the like. In particular, a color reversal development-processing system involves first black-and-white development, a stopping bath, a hardening bath, washing, an exposure or fogging bath, washing, a color-developing bath, washing, a bleaching bath, washing, fixing, washing, a stabilizing bath, and the like. In general, these steps are extremely complicated and time-consuming. Therefore, it is often advantageous to record or duplicate a positive image directly as a positive image.
The so-called "autopositive-type emulsion" which is a silver halide emulsion capable of directly providing a developed silver image with a positive image distribution through one development processing is known. However, many emulsions of this type do not provide good positive images through development with an aromatic primary amino color developing agent in the presence of a dye-forming coupler. Some suggestions are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,227,552, 3,330,655, 3,352,672, British Pat. No. 1,085,581, etc., as to autopositive emulsions capable of providing positive images under the conditions of color development. However, these processes have the defects in that sufficient sensitivity to take pictures under ordinary illumination is difficult to obtain and the minimum density of reversal images is not satisfactorily low.
Of the processes to obtain a positive image through one color development using an ordinary negative-type light-sensitive silver halide emulsion, there is a process of using an emulsion layer unit comprising a layer containing a spontaneously developable silver salt and an adjacent negative-type light-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer containing a compound capable of reacting with an oxidation product of an aromatic primary amino color developing agent, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,227,551, 3,227,554, 3,364,022 and German Pat. OLS 2,032,711. This process has the advantage that a highly sensitive light-sensitive material whose spectrally sensitized region can easily be expanded is provided. However, this process has the defect that the minimum density of the reversal image is not satisfactorily low, mainly due to the residual light sensitivity of the spontaneously developable silver salt, resulting in providing photographic images having stained highlight areas. This defect is particularly serious with a blue-sensitive emulsion layer unit.